Environmental impact assessment of industries through a multicriteria decision-making analysis

VERÓNICA RAJAL; MAINARDI REMIS JUAN MARTÍN; DOLORES GUTIÉRREZ CACCIABUE

Bahía Blanca

Conferencia; International Conference of Production Research (ICPR - Americas 2020),; 2020

Activities carried out by industries generate wastes which become a potential risk if there are not properly treated and well-disposed in the environment. More than two hundred industries located in the Province of Salta have been previously classified in twenty categories according to the type of product they made. However, the environmental impact of these industries is still unknown. Multicriteria decision-making analysis (MCDA) are useful methodologies to apply in this cases as they allow choosing the best from diverse alternatives based on multiple criteria, to finally make a smart decision. The aim of this work was to apply a MCDA to identify which categories of industries impact the most on the environment. The Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) was the MCDA selected. The alternatives were twenty categories of industries. Five criteria and sub-criteria (shown in parenthesis) were defined: 1- environmental resources (water, soil and air); 2- types of waste (physical, chemical and biological); 3- water consumption; 4- industries features (amount and size); 5- population index. AHP was solved with Expert Choice 11 Inc. Environmental resources and types of waste, were the criteria that weighed the most. Agroindustry was the alternative that impact most on the environment, due to the use of agrochemicals, emission of toxic gases and manure. In second place was the food industry which generates a variety of waste. These results will be useful on decision-making as they allow identifying the categories of industries that most impact in the environment, to propose alternatives for a better waste management.